How Do You Live Church Life — Stephen Kaung

Will you please turn to the letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 4. We'll read the first 16 verses. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1. I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you therefore to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called, with all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, as ye have been also called, in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all. But to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ.

Wherefore, he says, having ascended up on high, he has left captivity captive and has given gifts to men. For that he ascended, what is it? For that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth.

He that descended is the same, who has also ascended up above all the heavens, that he might feel all things. And he has given some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some shepherds and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, with a view to the work of the ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

As a full-grown man, as a measure of the statue of the fullness of the Christ, in order that we may be no longer bathed, tossed and carried about by every wind of that teaching, which is in a slate of men, in unprincipled cunning, with a view to systematize error, but holding the truth in love, we may grow up to him in all things, who is the head, the Christ, from whom the whole body fitted together and connected by every joint of supply.

According to the working in the measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to itself, building up in love. Let's have a word of prayer. Dear Lord, we do want to thank Thee again for gathering us together unto Thyself this morning.

Lord, Thou hast been good to us. We praise and thank Thee that Thou art the One whose delight is to reveal Thyself to Thy people. Dear Lord, we pray that even at this time Thou will continue to speak to us, open our understanding, fill our hearts with warmth, with love, knowing that how much Thou has done for us.

Dear Lord, we just commit this time into Thy hands and ask, Lord, that Thou will complete the work which Thou has begun. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen. Thank God He has brought us to the last full day of this conference.

The Eternal Purpose of God Must Remain Forever New

The theme of this conference is the eternal purpose of God. It is an old theme, and I think there is probably no theme older than this theme, because it begins from eternity, and yet it is forever new.

It continues throughout the ages, and it will reach to the eternity to come. This morning I'm thinking this is the oldest theme we can ever talk about. But does it get a little bit old to you? Are you tired of hearing this theme again?

Are you saying that, well, you have heard it so many times? Why is there not something new? Dear brothers and sisters, this is the oldest theme, but it is forever new. If it begins for you to feel that it is getting old, you better go back to the Lord.

Humble yourself before the Lord and ask the Lord, why is it that this theme becomes old to you? Why is it it does not have that sharpness, that freshness, that livingness that you ought to sense? Why is it that the theme does not stir your hearts up?

Of the great love of God in giving His beloved Son to you, and with Him, all things. Think that He can love you so much as He is willing to die for you, to bring you into that union with Him, to experience His fullness.

That you, a sinner, He is going to bring you into glory through sonship. Dear brothers and sisters, this theme shall forever stir our hearts. This theme is so intimate, so dear, so close. It is something that governs not only the whole universe, but it governs your life.

It means everything. So I do cry to the Lord that even though we are at the, almost towards the end of this conference, that this theme should never end. It should be ringing in our hearts day and night.

And especially, dear brothers and sisters, when we are coming to the close of the age, how much more important that we are literally, daily, living in that theme. And that theme is our daily food. So brothers and sisters, my prayer is that we will go away with a fresh, living, anointing of the eternal purpose.

The Church as a Way of Life

My responsibility is the eternal purpose of God as seen in the Church. And this morning, we are going to fellowship together on this matter of Church life. The Church is not just a theory, just a topic in theology.

The Church is very real. You know, in the beginning, when you look into the book of Acts, the name Christian was not given yet. And yet you find, when the Spirit of God tries to describe the Church, those who are in the Church.

This is the word, way. That name, that term, way, was given by the Spirit of God to the people of God. Even before this name Christian was invented. The name of Christian actually was given by the world.

The world look at these people, they do not know how to label them. So finally they say, well, they are Christians, because they are Christ's men and women. Because they are intoxicated with Christ. Because when they open their mouth, they speak of Christ.

When they gather together, they gather unto Christ. When they sing, they sing unto Christ. When they talk, they talk about Christ. So people say, well, these are Christians. But before this term was given, the Holy Spirit gave these people a name.

And the name is, People of the Way. In Acts chapter 9, verse 2, you find that Saul, how he persecuted those who are of the way. Seize upon men and women in Jerusalem, and will bring them to the court to be judged and sentenced.

People of the way. And again you find in Acts chapter 19, verse 9. When Paul was in Ephesus, he was reasoning with the people in the synagogue for three months. And then some people began to talk evilly of the way.

So he began to separate those people of the way from the people of the world. And while he was in Ephesus, you find again in verse 23. Because of the way, there was a great turmoil in the city of the way.

When you come to chapter 22, you find Paul. When he was seized by the Roman soldiers, going to be brought into the tower, he asked for permission to speak to his fellow citizens. And he told them how in his early days he persecuted the way.

You will find before the council, in chapter 22, Paul said, The way that you consider as a sect, this is the way that I am serving the Lord. Even before Felix, he testified how he persecuted that way before.

And Felix knew all about that way. So brothers and sisters, the other name of the church is the way. Why the way? Because it is a way of life. The church is not a teaching. The church is a way. It is a way of life.

You know, when I first came to this country, I often heard people telling me, this is our American way. Every nation has a special way of living. And we are proud of our way. The Jewish people have their way of living.

Discover there are people who are Jews. They are not living the Jewish way of life anymore. They live a strange way of life. And stranger than that, the Gentiles, people of the nations, they began to quit their Gentile way of life, and began to adopt a new way of life.

They live differently. And strangest of all, both the Jews and the Gentiles live the same strange way of life. It is a way of life that is not lived in any nation on the earth. A way of life that has never been seen, and yet without consultation, without negotiation.

You find people who believe in the Lord Jesus, whoever they are, wherever they are, at whatever time they may live, strangely they begin to live the same way. No different from the world. The world has never seen such a way of life.

It is a heavenly way upon the earth. And they live it. So brothers and sisters, it is very evident that the church is not a doctrine. The church is not a teaching. The church is a way of life. We not only believe in the church, we live.

Ephesians: From Church Truth to Church Life

What's before us is this. You have heard about the church. You may think that you know what the church is, that it is not that brick building at the corner of the square. You think you know all about the church.

But the problem is, are you living it? Do you know what church life is? Are you today living that life? The letter to the Ephesians. We usually say the letter to the Ephesians can very clearly be divided into two parts.

The first three chapters is on the teaching, as it were, of the truth of the church. And then the next three chapters on the life, the living of the church. Three chapters, now as a matter of fact, the third chapter, except the first verse, is all in parenthesis.

Because, in a sense, they belong to the first part. And you find when Paul is trying to share with the brothers and sisters to describe what the church is like, in order that they may understand the church.

He teaches them as an apostle. He said, I apostle Paul, as the one who has been given revelation. One who is sent by God to help people to know what a church is. But when you come to the second part, you find that Paul said, I, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, I, the prisoner in the Lord, come to the practical living.

The only way you can live the church life is to be a prisoner. A prisoner in the Lord. You are not able to enter into this church life. Church life is not for free men and free women. If you want to be free, you will discover that you are never able to enjoy church life.

You will be afraid of it. Scared of it. You want to get out of it. But if you are a prisoner of Christ Jesus, you are imprisoned by Christ. If you have lost your freedom, your own freedom, if you have given up your right to be a prisoner in the Lord, captured by the Lord, then, brothers and sisters, the church life is for you.

And you will be able to not only live that life, but even to enjoy it. I know many brothers and sisters who try to live the church life, and they do not enjoy it. It is possible they want to get out of it.

Too much for them. Why? Not because the church life is not beautiful, glorious, wonderful. But it is because we are too independent. We are too of I, me, mine. We have not surrendered our life to the Lord.

Heaven accepted him as the head. But if we do, there is nothing more precious than church life. In the second part of the letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul is trying to tell us what church life is like.

Three Dimensions of Church Life

I feel in these last three chapters, we can look at church life from three directions. In other words, church life is three-dimensional. There is one dimension that is looking within. You look at church life within.

Another dimension is you look at church life without. And there is another one, you look at church life beyond. Chapter four is looking at church life within. How do we live church life as members one of another?

Chapter five to chapter six, verse nine, without. How do we live this church life as a testimony to the world? Without. And chapter six, verse ten to the end, is beyond. How church life is to live in that unseen.

Now, first of all, we will consider together this morning, and probably we will spend most time on it, how do we live church life together as members one of another? Now, first of all, of course, church life, you need to have a certain attitude.

Walking Worthy Through Meekness, Patience, and Love

Before you begin to live church life, you need to have a certain mental attitude or spiritual attitude. And that comes from being a prisoner in the Lord. Now, if you are a prisoner in the Lord, then you'll find He will create within you certain character that is essential to living church life.

So, the Apostle Paul, he said, I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you, therefore, to walk worthy of the calling wherewith he hath been called. Now, in the first part of Ephesians, you'll find a calling.

We are called to be the body of Christ. We are called to be the new man. We are called to be fellow citizens of the kingdom of God's Son of Love. We are called to be the household of God. We are called to be the house of God.

We are called to be the bride, the wife of the bridegroom, our Lord Jesus. And we are called to be the spiritual warrior. So you'll find that so far as the church is concerned, there is a calling there.

We are called out. Every nation, every tribe, every tongue, every people. He called us out of all these and gathered us together unto himself. That's the church. But when you come to the second part, you'll find it's the walk.

We have been called. Now, let us walk worthy of the calling wherewith we have been called. Brothers and sisters, do you know your calling? Sometimes when we think of calling, we always think in terms of individual.

I feel called by the Lord to do this or to be that. That there is a calling upon every one of the redeemed of the Lord. We are called together into one calling. We are called to be the body of Christ.

We are called to be members of the new man. We are called to be fellow citizens. Members of the house of God. Living stones built up together into a spiritual house. Habitation of God in the spirit. And we are called together to be that glorious church that will be presented to our Lord Jesus as his bride.

And we are all called into this spiritual warfare. Not as individuals, but as one warrior. We are all called. But brothers and sisters, do we walk worthy of our calling? Agree with our calling? I think there is much that we need to think, meditate before the Lord.

In order to have this walk, this living of church life, a certain attitude or spiritual character is needed. So the Apostle Paul said, With all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, bearing with another in love.

That's to start with. Brothers and sisters, are you ready to live the church life? Does the Lord work in your life? His character? In heart. And lowly in heart. He said, Take my yoke upon me, you. And learn of me.

For I am meek and lowly in heart. And you shall find rest in your soul. Character of meekness. That is selfless. Not considering yourself all the time. Thinking of yourself all the time. Think for yourself.

No. Meekness. Denying yourself. Not knowing yourself. Giving up yourself. Spirit of lowliness. Of meekness. Learning to take the lowest place. Character of our Lord Jesus. Long suffering. You know, when I read 1 Corinthians chapter 13, I always wonder, why does love, when it is described, begins with love suffers negative.

And one day I realize, because this chapter on love has something to do with the body of Christ. In chapter 12 you find the body of Christ. Many members with different gifts, but one body. In chapter 14, you find the body functions.

One with a psalm, one with a prayer, one with a revelation, one with a prophecy, one with a tongue. You find how the body functions. Here you have the body. And the body is to function. But for the body to function properly, healthily, you need a more excellent way.

And the way is love. And love begins with long suffering. Suffers long. Have you discovered that already? When you are all by yourself, but when you are with your brothers and sisters, and in close quarters, you begin to suffer.

How long can you suffer? You want to pack up and leave? Or you are able to suffer long? As long as you live. Long suffering. Think of our God, our Lord Jesus. Suffer long. Even to the last minute on the cross, they will not let Him go.

They ridicule Him. Even the robbers on His right and left in the beginning, they also ridicule Him. And He suffered. Even from the cross, He suffered. He wouldn't come down for your sake. With one another in love.

Have you come to a place where you said, well, I cannot bear that brother any longer? It is too much. Not knowing that the same is true with your brother towards you. Certain character of Christ. For us to live church life.

Church life is not cheap at all. You can live very easily a congressional life. Because you only meet one hour a week. You put on your Sunday best. Nobody can touch you. You slip away. But try to live church life.

Body life. And you know the difference. Thank God we have the life of Christ in us. But the character of Christ has to be gradually cultivated. And it is usually built up through suffering. So dear brothers and sisters, be ready for it.

Keeping the Unity of the Spirit

The first thing when you enter into church life, using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. That is the first thing. The first thing is the unity of the body of Christ.

When you look around, you look into church history, that is the one thing that is so prominent. It is not there. The body has been broken up. God's people are not together. God's people are not one. They are at odds with each other.

Means something has been given. You cannot keep what you do not have. But what has been given to you, if that thing is very, very precious, then you want to keep it. And if it is so precious to you, you want to keep it diligently.

You know, sometimes I say, when you are walking on the street, especially when you are walking on the street in New York, in the early days, in Flushing, if in your pocket you have a hundred dollars bill there, how do you walk?

Your hand is there in your pocket. You keep it diligently. If you have only a few pennies in your pocket, how do you walk? You walk freely. If somebody will still steal your few pennies, let him have them.

Brothers and sisters, do we keep diligently the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace? That unity of the Spirit has been given to us. And it is described in the following seven ones. There is one body, one Spirit, one hope of your calling.

The Seven Ones and the Unity of the Triune God

We know there is one body. It is the body of Christ. This body is composed of many members. Yet one body, so also is the Christ. Every believer, every redeemed child of God is born to that body, to be a member.

This body is so precious because you cannot join this body by any other means. There is only one way to join this body, and that is by being born into it. To be born of the Spirit. To be born of God. And that is the only way to be a member, a living member of that body.

And this body is the body of Christ. This body does not belong just to anybody, even to some great man. This body belongs to Christ. He is the head. He fills the body with himself. He is to express himself through this body.

So it is a so precious body. One body. Our Lord Jesus does not have two bodies or more bodies. He has only one body. That's the reason why you'll find when the Corinthian believers begin to have that party spirit.

I'm of Paul. I'm of Apollos. I'm of Cephas. I am of Christ in a special way. Superior way. Paul said, Is Christ divided? Brothers and sisters, we do not take it seriously on this matter of divisions. But that is dismemberment of the body.

That brings the living body into death. Christ has only one body. One head, one body. And how does this body come about? One spirit. In one spirit, you were baptized into one body. You know, on the day of Pentecost, you have 120 believers.

But there are 120 individual believers. They are the best you can find in this world. The most faithful. And yet, it is just a congregation. An outward gathering together. But on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down, in one spirit, they were baptized into one body.

No longer 12 members, 120 members of a congregation. But 120 members of a living life joined together in one. As soon as you believe in the Lord Jesus, you were baptized by the same Spirit into that body.

You know, the Holy Spirit does many things to us on the day when you believe in the Lord Jesus. He begets you. He comes and dwells in your new spirit. And you are baptized in Him. Into the body of Christ.

One body. One spirit. One hope of our calling. What is our calling? Our calling is to be the body of Christ. What is the hope of our calling? The hope is when the body is fully matured, built up, then it will become the bride of the Lamb.

That's our hope. To be joined to Christ forever. And this is the work of the Holy Spirit. God the Spirit, He has made us one body. He is the one spirit who dwells in each one of us. And He is not only giving up that hope, but He is bringing that hope into reality in our lives.

These three are already there. Then one Lord, one faith, one baptism. These three refer to God the Son. Only one Lord. The Apostle Paul says, in the world people have many Lords, many Gods, but we have only one Lord.

Our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord. One faith. That Peter confessed before the Lord. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Because without that faith you cannot be saved. You cannot be born into the body of Christ.

One faith. One baptism. It does not refer to the forms of baptism. It refers to the reality of baptism. What is baptism? Baptism is to be baptized unto Christ. Formerly we belong to the world. Formerly we are under Satan.

That usurper. But we are baptized into Christ now. We belong to Christ. He is our King. One baptism. He refers to God the Son. What He has done for us. What He is to us. And these three are already given.

Jesus is your Lord. You have that one faith in Him. And you have been baptized unto Him. One God and Father. God is not only God to us. God is God to everybody. He is the God of the universe. The creator of all.

But He is not the Father of everybody. But He is your Father. My Father. We cry out Abba. We have one Father. It is God. He is over all, through all, and in us all. Thank God for that. God the Father.

So you will find in the seven ones, you see the work of the Triune God. The work of the Holy Spirit. The work of our Lord Jesus, Son of God. And the work of God the Father. Here you will find, in God, in Christ Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, we are one.

That's how our oneness comes from. That's the unity of the Spirit. That unity has been given to us to be kept. Brothers and sisters, have we kept it? Diligently keep it. Or have we already lose it? Lost it?

Peace Amid Doctrinal Differences

We need to keep this in the uniting bond of peace with one another. You say, how can I have peace with my brother and sister? Because we are so different. Standing of the Bible is different. Our experience of the Lord is different.

We have different ideas, we have different opinions, spiritual things. How can we be bonded together in peace? I have to tell that story. Many, many years ago, I was in Peru, South America. I went there to visit a couple of missionaries, the aliens.

You remember one alien brother was martyred in Ecuador, and this is his brother, Bert. He and his wife, they are still there, serving the Lord. To Peru. Work among the natives. I visited them. I have to fly into that city, because there's no road.

You are one. Then we spent a week on a little boat, sailing through the Amazon River, visiting different villages. Then we spent another week in a truck, climbing the high mountains in Peru, visiting saints here and there on the mountains.

I really enjoyed that. And then before I left, there was a conference in that city. And the natives began to come from different villages to that conference. They walked through the jingles and came together.

And I was leaving the next day. I was staying with this couple, and another missionary came from the neighboring village. He came in the afternoon. So when he saw that I was in the home of that missionary, he began to talk to me.

The way he talked, you know, he is examining me. He wants to know what I believe, where I was, and so forth. But he did it in a way that is very subtle. He began from the circumference. He began to question me.

And the questions began to get closer and closer. I know what he is aiming at because I know his background. He came from an exclusive brothering background. So he began to question me. And of course he discovered that I am a believer in the Lord.

And then finally the question that I was afraid he would ask came out. Just before supper, he said, brother, how about rapture? I tried to avoid that question. So I said, all believers will be raptured.

Oh, he said, when? How many times? Exclusive brother in belief that all believers will be raptured before the Great Tribulation. But unfortunately, or fortunately, my understanding is a little different.

But I have to be honest with him. Oh, I said, the whole church will be raptured. He is not satisfied. I have to tell him, well, brother, I know I have a different interpretation that you have because there's a debt.

And you know what he said? You don't believe the Bible. I said, brother, I believe the Bible just as you do. The only difference that our interpretation, our understanding are not the same. No, you don't believe the Bible.

And after supper, we are walking to the meeting. Because I was going to leave the next morning, so the brothers asked me to speak that evening. And as we walked to the meeting place, he walked by me and said, he said, if you speak, I won't speak.

If you speak, I won't speak. What should I do? He is from a neighboring village. He will be there. I won't be there. Should I deprive him of his speaking? Certainly not. So I told the brother, my host, and said, I'm not going to speak.

And the next morning before I leave, all these native brothers came together and demanded to know why. I didn't explain. I left. Brothers and sisters, do you see my point? Keep diligently the unity of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace.

Why does it say in the uniting bond of peace? Because God knows that even with the seven oneness, the basis of our fellowship, the unity of the spirit, we have many differences. We have yet at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

You know, in chapter 4, you have the unity mentioned twice. Verse 3, the unity of the spirit, and then verse 13, the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Not two unities. The two ends of one unity.

This unity begins with the unity of the spirit. And we will arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Brothers and sisters, we haven't arrived yet. It's evident. We haven't arrived at the unity of the faith.

One faith, the faith are different. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. That one faith refers to the basic faith in the Lord Jesus. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. That is one faith. We all have that one faith.

If you don't have it, you are not the Lord's. But the faith is what James said, what Jude said. In the book of Jude, you remember Jude? He said, when I'm trying to share with you on the whole salvation, I feel that I must contend for the faith that has once delivered to the saints.

In other words, the faith includes all the truth that you'll find in the word of God. Has been delivered once to the saints. Truth you can find in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Concerning our Lord Jesus, of course it's all centered upon our Lord Jesus.

That is the faith. We haven't arrived at the faith yet. Because we have different understanding. Different degree of understanding. Different interpretations. But that does not affect our one faith. The knowledge of the Son of God.

It is the full knowledge of the Son of God. In other words, it is that experiential knowledge of the Son of God. Our experience of our Lord Jesus so or so different. Some people they only experience the Lord Jesus as their personal savior.

Other people may experience the Lord as their sanctifier. Other people may have experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, our experience of our Lord Jesus is so different.

He is so big. He is so full. No one can experience Him in fullness all by himself. You experience something of Him. I experience something of Him. And together we experience Him all. This is something we are to arrive at.

But dear brothers and sisters, what's unfortunate is we reverse the order. When we meet our brothers and sisters, we start with the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. When you meet a believer, the first thing is to discover whether he is a believer.

But are you satisfied now? You are not. Your curiosity will drive you to ask more questions. Which denominations do you belong to? Oh, if you belong to, say, the Methodist, I'm a Baptist. You belong, you believe in free will.

I believe in divine election. Nothing to do with each other. We are different. Grieve when He looks upon us. What? We are all divided. Nothing to do with each other. Even become enemies. And the enmity among God's people, religious fanaticism, you cannot believe it.

Begin with the beginning. Diligently keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. In spite of all the differences you have with your brothers and sisters, different temperament, different background, different culture, different upbringing, different teaching, different experience, in spite of that, we are members one on another.

Keep that unity. And as long as you keep that unity, you are able to fellowship with one another. And as long as you keep on fellowshiping, there will be the opportunity of arriving at the unity of the Spirit, of the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

Otherwise, there is no hope. Thank God I have known people who are very different in their understanding of the Word. And yet, they are the Lords. They love the Lord. And because we do not reject each other, we receive those whom the Lord has received, eventually we arrive at one mind.

I have seen this. But if we do not fellowship, there is no hope. So first of all, how do we live this church life? Do we have a church life? Do we diligently keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace?

Do we continue to fellowship with one another, in spite of all the differences? When you are fellowshipping, you do not insist. You share what the Lord means to you, what He has given to you, your understanding of the Word, your understanding of the Son of God.

You should love your brothers and sisters who differ with you and try to share with them what the Lord has given to you, but do not insist that He must believe what you believe. He must be what you are.

Don't do that. On the other hand, be open to your brothers and sisters. When they share with you that is different, be open. Go to the Lord and ask the Lord whether it is of Him. Then receive it. Now, if we can fellowship in that nature of glorious fellowship, and then, of course, you'll find the Bible tells us when our Lord Jesus ascended upon high, He led captivity of captive, and He gave gifts.

Every Member's Gift Builds the Body

You know, in Psalm 68 verse 18, where it is quoted, it is a little bit different. He ascended upon high, led captivity captive, and received gifts in man. Even the rebellious to be a household. Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus, when He ascended up, He led captivity captive.

Who are the captivity captive? Sometimes we say, well, He led all the principalities and authorities in the air, that rebellious angels, He led the captivity captive. Yes, on the cross, He led them captive, and displayed them.

But to me, I feel the captivity captive. We're in captivity, but He captures. He receives us as the gift of God to Him. We who are the rebellious, but He makes us give gifts, and by these gifts, to build up the body in love.